statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

Southern Han Southern Han ( zh , t = 南漢 , p = Nán Hàn , j=Naam4 Hon3; 917–971), officially Han ( zh , t = 漢 , links=no), originally Yue ( zh , c = 越 , links=no), was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms that existed during the ...

Southern Tang Southern Tang ( zh, c=南唐, p=Nán Táng) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Located in southern China, the Southern Tang proclaimed itself to be the successor ...

Northern Han The Northern Han ( zh, t=北漢, s=北汉, p=Běi Hàn) was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Liu Min (Emperor Shizu) as a continuation of the Later Ha ...

House of Zhao The House of Zhao () was the imperial clan of the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China. Family history Origin The Zhao family originated from Zhuo Commandery (), located near present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei Province, China, and traced its roots ba ...

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Generals of the Yang Family'' legends is based on Pan Mei from this episode.

Early life

Pan Mei's father Pan Lin (潘璘) was a local militia captain (軍校) in Changshan (常山, around modern

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...

,

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

). In his 20s, Pan Mei worked as an usher (典謁) at his hometown of Daming (in modern Hebei) during the Later Han (947–951), and often told his close friend Wang Mi (王密) about his ambitions in taking advantage of the turbulent times for fame and riches.

Career under Later Zhou

After the establishment of

Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei ...

in 951, Pan Mei served

Chai Rong Chai Rong () (27 October 921 – 27 July 959), later known as Guo Rong (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, was the second emperor of the Later Zhou dynasty of China, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

, the prefect (府尹) of

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

. When Chai became the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

in 954, Pan was named a court official. He followed Chai on campaigns against the

Northern Han The Northern Han ( zh, t=北漢, s=北汉, p=Běi Hàn) was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Liu Min (Emperor Shizu) as a continuation of the Later Ha ...

kingdom, and after playing a part in the victory at

Gaoping Gaoping () is a county-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jincheng. It has a history stretching back to the Warring States period (403–221 BCE). Part of the city w ...

, served in the palace commissions. Later he became the military inspector of an expeditionary army preparing to invade the

Later Shu Shu, referred to as Later Shu ( zh, t=後蜀, s=后蜀, first=t, p=Hòu Shǔ) and Meng Shu ( zh, c=孟蜀) in historiography, was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was ...

kingdom.

Pacifying Yuan Yan

In 960, general

Zhao Kuangyin Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founding emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguished milita ...

overthrew Later Zhou to found the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. As a former friend, Pan was given important tasks by the new emperor and he did not disappoint. First, Pan persuaded military governor Yuan Yan to submit to Song, then supervised the armies in quelling Li Chongjin's revolt in

Huainan Huainan () is a prefecture-level city with 3,033,528 inhabitants as of the 2020 census in north-central Anhui province, China. It is named for the Han-era Principality of Huainan. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu' ...

. Staying behind in

Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...

after the victory, he was later sent to Qinzhou (秦州, in today's

Qin'an County Qin'an County () is a county in the east of Gansu province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Tianshui. Its postal code is 741600, and in 1999 its population was 567,553 people. As of 2018, the population is 618 ...

,

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

) where he became the imperial commissioner of the local

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

.

Conquest of Southern Han

In 963, Pan Mei was named the imperial defense commissioner of Tanzhou (today's

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

) and sent to

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

to help control the newly conquered province, which borders the

Southern Han Southern Han ( zh , t = 南漢 , p = Nán Hàn , j=Naam4 Hon3; 917–971), officially Han ( zh , t = 漢 , links=no), originally Yue ( zh , c = 越 , links=no), was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms that existed during the ...

kingdom to the south. During the next 7 years, Pan pacified rebellious tribes in the southern half of the province and fought off

Southern Han Southern Han ( zh , t = 南漢 , p = Nán Hàn , j=Naam4 Hon3; 917–971), officially Han ( zh , t = 漢 , links=no), originally Yue ( zh , c = 越 , links=no), was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms that existed during the ...

incursions in

Guiyang Guiyang; Mandarin pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively as Kweiyang is the capital of Guizhou, Guizhou province in China. It is centrally located within the province, on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, eastern part of the Yun ...

and Jianghua. In 970, Pan was named the commander of the expeditionary force to invade Southern Han. In Fuchuan, he defeated the 10,000-men strong Southern Han army and subsequently took

Hezhou Hezhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Hezhou is located in northeastern Guangxi. It borders Hunan to the north and Guangdong to the east. ...

. Quickly the Song army conquered Zhaozhou (昭州, in today's

Pingle County Pingle County (; ) is a county in the northeast of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefectu ...

), Guizhou (桂州, today's

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...

) and

Lianzhou Lianzhou (), formerly Lian County or Lianxian ( postal: Linhsien; ), is a county-level city in northern Guangdong Province, China, and is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Qingyuan. It is known as the host ci ...

, resulting in the surrender of other

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

leaders along the

Xi River The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River in southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates from the eastern foot of the Maxiong Mountain in Quji ...

. Pan Mei's forces killed more than 10,000 enemy soldiers in Shaozhou (韶州, today's

Shaoguan Shaoguan is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch Huineng. Its built-u ...

) to advance to 120 '' li'' north of

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, Southern Han's

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

. Around 150,000 Southern Han soldiers were stationed on a hill for a last battle. Pan Mei rested his soldiers and mentioned to his subordinate generals that the enemy's bamboo fences could best be attacked by fire. On a windy night, he dispatched a few thousand brave men to the enemy's gate, each with 2

torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end which can be used as a light source or to set something on fire. Torches have been used throughout history and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggl ...

es in hands. Soon great flames engulfed the camps, and as the Song forces attacked from both sides, tens of thousands of Southern Han soldiers perished. The

Southern Han Southern Han ( zh , t = 南漢 , p = Nán Hàn , j=Naam4 Hon3; 917–971), officially Han ( zh , t = 漢 , links=no), originally Yue ( zh , c = 越 , links=no), was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms that existed during the ...

ruler Liu Chang was captured in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, and the invasion ended 5 months after it began. Pan would remain to pacify the

Lingnan Lingnan (; ) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern China, Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong & Macau and Northern Vietnam. Background The ar ...

territory for three years as the joint

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

and commissioner of foreign trade.

Conquest of Southern Tang

In 974, Pan Mei led his troops north to Jiangling during the fresh campaign against the

Southern Tang Southern Tang ( zh, c=南唐, p=Nán Táng) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Located in southern China, the Southern Tang proclaimed itself to be the successor ...

kingdom. One month later, he was named the military inspector of the troops under the overall command of

Cao Bin Cao Bin (; 931–999) was a military general in imperial China. A nephew-in-law of Guo Wei, who founded the Later Zhou in 951, Cao first rose up through the ranks of the Later Zhou military. After the Song dynasty replaced Later Zhou in 960, Ca ...

and ordered to advance to Qinhuai. Reaching the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

, Pan Mei did not want to wait for boats to be built. Instead he motivated his troops by saying, "His majesty gave me tens of thousands of brave men, expecting victories. Are we going to let this narrow water deter us?" His men swam across the river and destroyed the enemy. After this victory, Pan Mei was rewarded and became a commissioner of palace attendants (宣徽北院使).

Death of Yang Ye

In 986,

Emperor Taizong of Song Zhao Jiong (20 November 939 – 8 May 997), known as Zhao Guangyi from 960 to 977 and Zhao Kuangyi before 960, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Song, was the second emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 9 ...

ordered a new invasion to retake the

Sixteen Prefectures The Sixteen Prefectures, more precisely known as the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan- Yun () or the Sixteen Prefectures of You- Ji (), comprise a historical region in North China along the Great Wall in present-day Beijing, Tianjin, and part of no ...

from the Liao dynasty. The campaign was known as "Yongxi Campaign" under the era name of Taizong. Three armies participate the campaign, led by Pan Mei, Yang Ye and

Cao Bin Cao Bin (; 931–999) was a military general in imperial China. A nephew-in-law of Guo Wei, who founded the Later Zhou in 951, Cao first rose up through the ranks of the Later Zhou military. After the Song dynasty replaced Later Zhou in 960, Ca ...

. Pan Mei command one of the three armies sent northward. Initially, the expedition scored major victories over Liao forces. However, from time to time, miscommunications, misunderstanding between the generals and the failure of Cao Bin led Pan Mei and Yang Ye into disastrous situations. In a failed attempt to thwart an attack from Liao troops, Yang Ye was surrounded without reinforcement from Pan Mei. His sons died one by one, with only his sixth son Yang Yanzhao surviving. Eventually, Yang Ye was captured and died three days later. Following the death of Yang Ye, Liao gained the upper hand in the conflict. The Song forces were pursued all the way to Bianjing, which was successfully held by the Taizong emperor. Angered and furious by the death of Yang Ye, a few of Song's military officials were executed, others being thrown into exile. Pan Mei was demoted three ranks.

Notes and references

Sources

;Primary sources * * ;Secondary source * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pan, Mei 920s births 991 deaths Later Zhou people Song dynasty generals